Genres

Ticker: price and year-over-year change for 40 genres. Price is the median estimated first-year revenue of indie paid launches. The change shows for genres with 100+ launches. The same figures are on the Genres page.

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201,879
on 11 Nov 2026

At $10 to $20: 10 in 100 earned $100k+, against 21 in 100 for all genres at that price.

Genres / CRPG

CRPG

265 launches studied, 3,085 store games
Figures of 11 Nov 2026

1 in 13 CRPG launches earned $100k+ in their first year, above the 1 in 15 for all genres. Price matters most: at $10 to $20 it is 10 in 100, against 21 in 100 for all genres. No single game dominates: the biggest, Drova - Forsaken Kin, holds 31% of its money.

Chance of $100k+1 in 13Above all genres21 of 265 launches earned $100k+ in year one. All genres 1 in 15, 26,758 launches.
At $10 to $2010 in 100Below its price6 of 58 launches at $10 to $20, $10k+ 50 in 100. All genres at that price 21 in 100.
Typical first year$859Above all genresHalf of 265 launches earned more. All genres $562, the cohort median. Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.
Biggest game's share30.6%Money spread outDrova - Forsaken Kin, of the money from 265 launches. Without it 1 in 13 hit $100k+.
New store launches+58.3%Launches up258 in the last 12 months, 163 the 12 before. All store games with the tag.
Read with careToo few to read: $20 to $40 (23 launches) 3

The eight cards

Fixed order: odds, earnings, the one-hit check and life cycle, then demand, upcoming and the two gold cards. Click a price on Launch odds to read the page at that price. Figures of 11 Nov 2026.

Launch odds

by price

Odds of a $100k+ first year, by price

$10 to $206 of 58 launches10 in 100
PriceActualExpectedAllUnder $5$5 to $10$10 to $20$20 to $40

Lens checkHolds in 3 of 3. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: holds.

Compare prices

Earnings

$10 to $20

Estimated first-year earnings. Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.

Reach $10k+under 100 launches, no typical50 in 100
Reach $1k+84 in 100
Reach $100k+10 in 100
All genres, $10k+52 in 100
Launches studied58

Lens checkHolds in 2 of 3, 1 too few to tell. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: too few to tell.

How earnings work

One-hit check

top game

Money in one gameSpread

Drova - Forsaken Kinthe biggest, under half30.6%

31 in 100dollars went to one game

1 in 13hit $100k+ without it, was 1 in 13

Lens checkHolds in 3 of 3. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: holds. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: holds.

Why medians hold up

Life cycle

needs data

New launches a year, all store games

258 launcheslast 12 months, was 163+58.3%
Tell me when ready

Rising demand

#105 of 107

Holds players vs same-age games, descriptive

No clear changethe range includes no change, 58 games-4.6%
Vs same-age games-4.6%
Without top game-2.0%
Reviews3,207was 5,290
Top game37.3%of reviews

Lens checkWithout the breakout: holds. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: not run yet. Without the breakout: holds. Last 18 months: not run yet.

See all 107 genres

Upcoming

in genre

Wishlistable now, most wanted first

Shadow of the Roadwishlist rank #154722 games
Shadow of the RoadMar 10#154
Vampire: The Masquerade — ETERNAL WHISPERSno date#344
Travelling At Nightno date#421
The Secret of Weepstone2027#430
Starfinder: Afterlight2027#463
Get release alerts

Best pairs

could be luck

Best odds of a $100k+ year, with expectedFree until launch

+ Turn-Based Combatabout 0.8 times expected (15 in 100)12 in 100
PairActualExpected+ Turn-Based Combat+ Action RPG+ Party-Based RPG+ RPG+ Exploration

Lens checkOne-hit market. Standard: the base the others are compared with. West-facing view: too few to tell. Without the breakout: moves the answer. Last 18 months: not run yet.

Open free preview
Best pairsFree until launchClick to unlockWhich pairs beat the odds

Spotlight

every board

Every board, one cardFree until launch

CRPGtypical, last 4 quarters$672
Last 4 quarters$672132 launches, -57.0%
Launch success#52of 116, 1 in 11
Anticipated#118of 135, 87 on chart
Rising demand#105of 107, -4.6%
Open free preview
SpotlightFree until launchClick to unlockEvery board, one card

Data facts

Every count on this page, with its sample and date, in seven labels. The numbered notes beside each label say what each figure means, where it comes from and what limits it.

Data facts

CRPG, genre page

7 labels per genre page

Cohort1Steam launches 12 to 36 months oldindie paid
Figures as of2odds and earnings of 2 Nov 202611 Nov 2026
1

Who is counted

Indie paid Steam launches 12 to 36 months old: old enough to have a full first year, recent enough to be today's market. Games from major publishers, games over $40, adult and free games are left out.

265 of the 3,085 store games tagged CRPG are in it; the rest are older, newer, free or from big publishers. All genres together: 26,758 launches.

2

Where it comes from

Odds, earnings, lenses and pairs: figures made on 2 Nov 2026 from GMD's warehouse of store data.

Boards, launch counts and upcoming games: the store data of 11 Nov 2026. Every figure is derived from public store data; no game list is copied.

Sample

Per 265 launches, 2 Nov 2026

MeasureLaunches

Launches studied1265
under $597
$5 to $1087
$10 to $2058
$20 to $40323 too few
All genreslaunches in the cohort26,758
Store games with the tagstore data, 11 Nov 20263,085
3

Small samples

A price band needs 30 launches to be read on this page (the Sample filter; never under 10). Below that the page says "too few" instead of a figure, and under 30 launches or 5 hits a chance is written as a count, such as "10 of 20 launches".

Even at 30 launches, one extra hit moves the chance by over 3 in 100, so treat close figures as equal. Here: $20 to $40 has 23. Pairs need 30+ launches to be ranked: 5 of 14 qualify.

4

Price is built in

Revenue is estimated from reviews times price, so a dearer game reaches $100k with fewer reviews. That makes odds climb with price in every genre. All genres: 1 in 230 under $5, 1 in 28 $5 to $10, 21 in 100 $10 to $20, 44 in 100 $20 to $40.

So compare odds within a price band. "Expected at its prices" is the chance this genre would have if each of its launches did as well as all games at the same price: 1 in 10.

First-year earnings

Per 265 launches, 2 Nov 2026, all prices

MeasureEstimated

Earned $100k+5of 265 launches21
Chance of $100k+all genres 1 in 151 in 13
Expected at its prices41 in 10
Beats its prices7actual 1 in 13, expected 1 in 10: could be luckabout 0.8 times
Typical game (median)6half of 265 earned more$859
Top quarter over$7,387
Top tenth over$86,774
All genres, cohort median26,758 launches$562
5

A soft estimate

A hit is an estimated first-year revenue of $100k or more: store reviews x a reviews-to-sales multiplier x price x the share of list price actually paid after discounts, with a regional price adjustment (games sold mostly to Chinese-speaking players earn less per sale, because regional prices are lower).

Sales on Steam before Steam's cut; about 58% of it reaches the developer.

Nobody publishes the true multiplier. Across its likely range the all-genre chance moves from 4.8 to 8.4 in 100, and a third of all hits sit within 2x of the $100k line. Read every chance as "about": this genre is about 1 in 13.

6

Typical means median

Half of the launches earned more, half less. One huge hit cannot move it, which is why this page uses medians, not averages.

The all-genre figure beside it is the cohort median ($562, 26,758 launches). "Typical, last 4 quarters" further down is a different measure, named for what it is.

Typical figures are shown from 100 launches; below that the page shows the chance of clearing $1k, $10k and $100k.

7

May be luck

With about 300 genres, chance alone gives the best one a lead near 1.8 times its expected odds (2.05 times for the top 5 in 100).

CRPG beats its prices about 0.8 times (actual 1 in 13, expected 1 in 10), under 1.8 times, so the lead could be luck. There are many more pairs than genres, so the Best pairs card uses higher lines: 2.37 times, and 2.56 for the top 5 in 100.

Lens check

Per 265 launches, 2 Nov 2026, all prices

MeasureStandard is the base

Standard8Base265 of 265 launches, 1 in 13, typical $859
West-facing view9Holds213 of 265 launches, 1 in 12, typical $1,056
Without the breakout11Holds264 of 265 launches, 1 in 13, typical $859
Last 18 months10Holds59 of 265 launches, 1 in 12
8

The four lenses

Each lens reruns the figures on a slice of the launches. Standard is the base: every launch in the cohort. It is not a lens that can hold or move.

A lens moves the answer when its chance of $100k+ differs from the standard by more than a random slice of the same size would, with 5+ hits on both sides, or when its typical earnings move over 25% with 100+ launches in the lens. Without the breakout moves it when one game earned over half the money. With fewer hits it is too few to tell. Pips: green holds, coral moves, grey too few or not run.

Lens figures cover all prices; they are not split by price band yet.

9

The West-facing view

The West-facing view keeps games mostly reviewed outside China: it sets aside games with 35% or more of their reviews in Chinese (52 of 265 here).

Review language is measured only for games with 2,000+ reviews; for smaller games it is guessed from the game's name. The audience split is genre-specific: leaving those games out changes typical earnings 53% in FMV and 19% in Dating Sim, yet barely moves the all-genre chance (6.1 to 6.0 in 100).

Here typical earnings move +22.9%, inside the 25% line; 15.1% of its revenue-weighted reviews are in Chinese.

10

Recency

Last 18 months keeps launches 18 months old or newer (59 of 265). Tastes move: only 9 of the top 15 genres by hit rate stay top 15 on recent launches.

When the two disagree, prefer the recent figure. Here: 1 in 12 against 1 in 13, typical $579 against $859: it holds.

Concentration

Per 265 launches, 2 Nov 2026

MeasureShare of the money

Biggest game's share11Drova - Forsaken Kin30.6%
Chance without it264 launches1 in 13
Mostly reviewed in Chinese952 of 265 launches19.6%
Share of Chinese-language reviewsrevenue-weighted, part guessed from names, 11 Nov 202615.1%
11

One-hit markets

A genre is one-hit when one game holds over half its money. Across genres the top game holds 29% in the median genre and the top tenth of games 94%; 57 genres have one game over half.

No single game dominates: the biggest, Drova - Forsaken Kin, holds 31% of its money. Totals and shares are safe to read here. Without it, 1 in 13 still hit $100k+.

Market around it

Per store data, 11 Nov 2026

MeasureAll store games

New launches, last 12 months12163 the 12 before, all store games258
Wishlistable now13722
On the wishlist chart41
Verified dates, next 90 days0
Pairs with 30+ launches35 of 14
Rising demand1458 games, #105 of 107-4.6%
Launch success rank#52 of 116
Most anticipated rank#118 of 135
Typical, last 4 quarters132 launches, -57.0% on a year$672
12

Launch counts

New launches count every store game with the tag released in each 12 months, not only the indie cohort, from the store data of 11 Nov 2026.

258 against 163 is +58.3%: more games now compete for the same players. Earlier years and a life-cycle stage are not computed yet.

13

Upcoming games

722 store pages carry the tag and can be wishlisted. 41 are on Steam's wishlist chart.

A date counts as verified only when the release-calendar job checked it against the live store, for the next 90 days. Other dates are as the store lists them.

14

Boards and ranks

Rising demand: games here hold their players better than similar games of the same age (reviews, games launched since 2021), Aug to Oct 2026 against 2025, from 58 games. It describes; the backtest found it does not predict launches.

Ranks are among 116 (Launch success), 135 (Most anticipated), 107 (Rising demand), 126 (Typical earnings) genres. Typical, last 4 quarters ($672, 132 launches) uses launches of 2024Q4 to 2025Q3 only, so it differs from the cohort median.

Not computed yet

Per genre, as of 2 Nov 2026

MeasureSaid, never guessed

Lens figures by price band15not yet
Life-cycle stagenot yet
Gaining fastnot yet
Outside sales checknot yet

Derived figures only, estimated from public store data. GMD is not affiliated with Valve.

15

Not computed yet

Lens figures by price band: lens figures are not split by price yet.

Life-cycle stage: needs launch counts further back than two years.

Gaining fast: follower readings started 30 Sep; first readings 13 Oct.

An outside check: the backtest scores predictions against the same review-based estimate, so it shows review counts are predictable, not revenue. Fixing that needs outside sales data.

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Odds today21 of 265 hit $100k+1 in 13
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SubjectCRPG this month: odds, earnings, releases

Chance of $100k+21 of 265 launches, first year
1 in 13
Typical first year (median)half of 265 launches earned more
$859
Typical, last 4 quarters vs a year before132 launches, typical $672
-57.0%
New launches, last 12 months163 the 12 before, all store games
258
Next verified releaseno verified date in the next 90 days
none
Best pair with 30+ launches+ Turn-Based Combat, 41 launches
12 in 100

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Releases

Ticker: 30 upcoming games dated within 90 days, with wishlist rank, release date and followers. The same list is on the Upcoming page.